JOSEPH GULLO

Joseph Gullo was a teacher, counselor and administrator who coordinated guidance programs in Chicago public schools and had a love for helping young people set and attain career goals. Mr. Gullo taught chemistry and science at Gage Park High School and was a guidance counselor at Kelvyn Park High School before becoming a Chicago school board counseling administrator with multidistrict responsibilities. While in that position Mr. Gullo coordinated guidance programs in one-third of the city's public schools and worked closely with agencies and businesses to bring career information to students. He developed a series of career information presentations, inviting students and their parents to hear professionals from a variety of fields talk about their jobs. Mr. Gullo said his aim was to get parents involved in helping build students' enthusiasm for exploring their career paths. He had a love for teaching and learning, and often gave pep talks to motivate students. A Chicago native, Mr. Gullo was one of seven children born to parents who emigrated from Sicily to the U.S. in the early 1900s. He grew up on the near North Side and attended Wells High School, where he took up music, playing percussion in the band and orchestra. A self-taught pianist, Mr. Gullo formed band combos and performed in dance halls, taverns and churches around Chicago to earn extra money. Mr. Gullo joined the Army during World War II, serving in a military police unit guarding German prisoners of war at camps in North Carolina. He attended college with the help of the G.I. bill, earning a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a master's degree in biology from Northern Illinois University. Mr. Gullo did postgraduate work in guidance and counseling at Northwestern University, DePaul University and Chicago Teachers College. In 1955 Mr. Gullo married Patricia Kelleher, a native of Logan Square who met Mr. Gullo on a blind date. The couple had seven children and lived in Oak Park. Mr. Gullo maintained strong ties to his Italian heritage and in 1995 traveled for the first time to Sicily to visit Montemaggiore Belsito, the small village about 60 miles southeast of Palermo where his parents were born and raised before emigrating to the U.S. In 1989 Mr. Gullo retired after 39 years of service in the Chicago public school system. He became a part-time student recruiter for Sheboygan, Wisconsin-based Lakeland College, and also pursued his interest in real estate sales. He was a member of the Northwest and Oak Park Boards of Realtors. Mr. Gullo was active in a variety of civic organizations in Oak Park, including Knights of Columbus, the American Legion and the Moose Lodge. He was a past president of the Oak Park/River Forest Kiwanis Club and a former board member of the local chapter of the Association of Italian American Educators. Mr. Gullo was a member of the St. Vincent Ferrer Choir in River Forrest and ushered at church services. Mr. Gullo was very proud of his children's educational and professional achievements. All his children are college graduates and professionals, including a physician, two teachers, a university professor, a journalist and an architect. Mr. Gullo is survived by his wife Patricia; daughters Ellyn, Karen, Susan (Tim Evon) and Jacquelyn (Joseph Skelton), sons, David (Cindy), Gregory (Helen) and Douglas (Kim); sixteen grandchildren and sister Josephine Scurlock; he was the loving son of Mariano and Agnes Gullo, and loving brother to Dominic, Nancy Varjavedian, Mildred Brown, Jean Kroll and Mary T. Redo (all deceased). In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Retired Teachers Association of Chicago Fund, 20 East Jackson Blvd., Suite 1500, Chicago IL 60604-2235. Funeral will be Monday 9 a.m. from Salerno's Galewood Chapels, 1857 N. Harlem Ave to St. Vincent Ferrer Church. Mass at 10 a.m.. Interment at Queen of Heaven Cemetery. Visitation, Sunday 2 to 8 p.m. For info call 773-889-1700.